From this article on the STAR in California comes an odd, unquestioned testing criticism:
Sergio Miguel remembers all too well what it was like taking tests in a foreign language, something nearly 30 percent of Tulare County students do. Miguel moved to Lindsay from Mexico when he was a high school freshman.
"It was extremely difficult to learn English," he said.
Nevertheless, Miguel learned English at Lindsay High School, went on to College of the Sequoias and got his bachelor's degree at California State University, Fresno.
Now back at Lindsay High, where he teaches math, Miguel watched last week as his students who speak limited English struggled on standardized tests, re-quired by California law to be in English, the very same tests that determine statewide school rankings.
He watched, not able to help.
"There is a huge frustration for me," he said. "If they were given a test in Spanish, without doubt their scores would be way ahead of their scores now."
Does Miguel not see that the reason he was able to succeed in our society was because Lindsay High School insisted on teaching him English? His students might very well do fine on the test if it were given in Spanish, but so what? Does that mean his students would have the tools necessary to succeed in our society? No.
That much said, I'm aware the tests aren't perfect, and testing does not in and of itself improve education. But I wonder if so many teachers would be "throwing their hands in the air" if there wasn't the constant, not-quite-accurate refrain about how these tests only measure affluence. Schools, and educators, who insist that accountability measures reflect only the home environment make me wonder why we should be paying their salaries.
Posted by kswygert at May 10, 2004 02:32 PM